I'm a guitar maker and know nothing of violins. I often watch videos of other instruments being made, repaired, restored. Fascinating to watch this. First thing I noticed was the grain pattern on the top plate and relating that to guitar soundboards. I found myself wanting to hear what it sounded like. Many thanks. :)
Thank you! I have tasked myself with refacing my student violin that was badly damaged when I was 14. This is almost everything I needed to know. I think I could replace the fingerboard without instructions but I will probably watch videos like that and more of these. The passion of violin makers and repairers delights me!
Wow, such skills, I was on the edge of my seat just watching that strip down, fix and rebuild. My Cello was crushed in a soft bag when I was a kid on an underground train, by a football mob. The cello was made in 1845 (we had no idea back then of its age!) the accident in 1972. I had a local London repairer, who was in his 70's rebuild it, the sound was better, the cost was borne by the London Underground and at the time was more than £500 when the cello only cost my parents £120. I sold that cello in 1985 for £650, and tried to buy it back in 2015 when it sold for £11,500! Never mind, I no longer play but wish I did. Thank you, David, for sharing that fascinating video.
It looks quite a bit like a Sears and Roebuck mail-order violin. My Mother had one as a child back in the late 30s. When I started playing violin in the late 70s, she had hers restored, and I played it throughout high school. I managed to break one of the pegs and my Father went to the library, did some research, and recreated a peg out of a birch branch. I had three black pegs and one white one. I still have it, and the original case it was shipped in, almost 70 years ago.
I looked at the old catalog, I think 1902 or so, and they had 2 models, the first was of lesser wood and construction, and cost 1 dollar (like what Tommy Jarrell played, bright and nasal sounding, with steel strings). The 2nd was like this one getting repaired, pretty nice, and cost 2 dollars. Some sound really good. Almost always, somebody needs to go through them, just like this guy did, and fix cracks, sound post, maybe bass bar if too small, pegs are almost always sucky, and the bridge might be strange too - if it was at a junior hight school. Glue on soundpost common, broken end gut common too. But, the nice ones have nice top and back wood and ribs, and usually sound real good when done.
Lieber David, dieses Video ist so wunderbar, begleitet von wunderschöner Geigenmusik, es ist so schön zu sehen, wie liebevoll Du die Geige berührst, wie ein krankes Kind, das wieder gesund werden muss! Und sie klingt wieder und erfüllt mit dem schönsten Klang ihrer Musik die Herzen aller, die sie hören. Ich spiele selbst Geige und liebe meine beste Freundin von ganzem Herzen. Danke vielmals- auch ich hätte die Geige gerne gehört, reparieren und durch ihren Klang zum Leben erwecken, meine Freudentränen hätten all meine Gefühle zum Ausdruck gebracht, die ich während des Anschauens für diese Geige empfunden habe💕 Viel Freude dem neuen Besitzer, die Geige wird es mit ihrem Klang danken! Alles Schöne, lieber David🌹
That was a very nice video, and your knowledge and attention to detail is impressive. I was all ready to take my violin to your shop, but then I saw the label, "Repaired in SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA"! Unfortunately that's not the continent where I live!
Excellent video but I agree with some of the other comments regarding the colour of the font used in the subtitles. Great to see a master craftsman at work. As you may be aware, there are some horrific violin repair videos on RU-vid; people that just don't care about the instruments. You obviously do. Thank you!
I really enjoyed this and try to learn how to do this. My wife's great-grandfathers old German violin was given to me to play with. It is a mess. I do have quite a bit of experience in restoring antique furniture so I think I can make a go of it using what I've learned watching videos like this. It's not a real valuable instrument so if I goof it up it's not the end of the world. And because I can't play very well nobody will know if I succeeded or failed. RU-vid can get me started but I gotta justdo it and learn from the experience. Heck, if I end up turning it into a fiddle I'll be happy.
I watched Bob Westbrook repair and build such intricate instruments and also Bob Westbrook set world speed records at Bonneville Salt Flats .. I found out that my friends let him go at Mile 5 at 200mph now just Dust in the Wind...or Playing with the Angels! Forever Racer with Don Vesco Turbinator ! But both Dancing Upon The Streets of GLORY! With the Creator of this instrument and the CREATOR of ALL!
Incredible work for a cheap fiddle. Love the way you matched the grain of the patch to the grain of the wood, although I've heard that the patch would be stronger if the wood is cross-grained to the belly.
@pagansforbreakfast It would be even better to learn how to (& do) make a violin to better understand the whole function of the design & material used before doing repairs, then all repairs can be done with the same respect as a violin maker.
@pagansforbreakfast It's true about the cost of tools, but tools can also be made too to save on cost. I made several gouges from old files quite successfully & they (some) get used in repairs too, as well as other things such as cradles for plates, instruments & bows etc. Money saved is money gained (except for the time). The thumb planes I bought though (as well as a finishing plane). A band saw (& bench disc/belt sander) gets used all the time for set ups.
No offense but players who are scared of their instruments is and sounds ridiculous. Man up. Go learn how to look after it. Where I'm from we can make a bridge, repair cracks and basically deal with any setup issue or minor repair.
@@kanatsizkanatli that’s quite the tall order for simply a player! Perhaps at an amateur level, but for professional quality instruments, I couldn’t imagine just trusting myself over a highly trained and experienced luthier. How would one come about knowing this as well, those are very vague repairs that can range in difficulty. Just a small crack to the the whole thing split down the middle.
I have a couple old electrics I fiddle on, sorry, and my DNA forces a moral imperative to make the odd repair. My Gramps was a master cabinet maker and his Brother built pipe organs. I just enjoy process in the arts, any form. This was lovely to watch and listen.
As a violinist this whole video makes me a little queasy lol. It's like watching a truly scary horror movie with a happy ending. You luthiers do God's work
Thank carrot!! Although I think the way violinists bring, what is otherwise a few pieces of wood, to life is God's work. You guys give it life and make it sing...!!!
Omg after watching a while it was like a horror movie watching him systematically dismantling her. Almost fainted when he pulled out the drill. Such dramatic music. Like a Hitchcock movie for twisted musicians.
You can get a hundred year old fiddle in this condition or better for about a hundred bucks...or less. Heck I have several century-old-violins in good playing condition and none of them cost very much. The older Czech fiddles have a wonderful old dark sound, are usually well-made, and can be had for very little. Often, they don't even need much work like this one in the video. Granted, doing the work and hearing the old instrument sing again after so long is immensely rewarding, but actually PLAYING old instruments that never got in such bad condition while you learn the craft is also wonderful.
This is a cheap violin, the type sold by mail order companies. Old doesn’t always mean good. There were and still are a lot of these made for students. Go out and buy a 100 year old violin at your local antique store or on eBay.
I know absolutely nothing about violins, but I can always appreciate masterful woodwork and the care taken to repair it. Though another part of me likes to imagine a very anxious violinist pacing back and forth or watching wide eyed at the process being performed in front of them, never moving from their spot, afraid that even them breathing would disturb the work being done.
Maybe I am strange but I like volins with very, very close growth rings. Everyone says that it does not make a difference but I don't see how it would not. The growth rings are denser than the surrounding wood. I also find that the close ring violins are better looking.
Dear David , despite this violin was unlabelled i thought that it is *Höfner* Violin.I thought so because this violin has some common things with Höfner Violins.Also Höfner is 132 years old company and technically from 1945 became German (It was moved in Möhrendorf).
Great job. I have also german-type violin over hundred years old. My luthier also done great job to restore. It is great violin and I love that these older instruments can be so good.
Sound posts are not normally glued into a violin, but are held in place by the pressure between the top and back. They can be moved around to find the best setting.
Interesting he used water to clean and it didn’t need refinishing.. probably would have deprecated the peice I suppose, similar to furniture.. nice stuff and enjoyed the music!!
This was very informative, as I have a violin, just like this one. I have a problem with it now, and need to open it up, and fix it. It was sounding great, until I left it in a very hot room, for a few days. The glue loosened, and then when I tightened the strings, it dislodged the sides, from the bottom. And there's no label, and I didn't know what to think of it. So since it sounds great, it must be old, as I have other similar ones, that don't sound so good.
You musicians must experience the world very differently from me. That you can tell the bridge or nut needs reshaping because of its tone or sound is simply amazing. I am completely devoid of musical talent and a car alarm is torture to me, they must be hell for you musicians.
As a fellow woodworker and student of the instrument I find this very interesting. This doesn't appear to be a particularly high end instrument so I would guess that it was more a labor of love.
It was a bit of a labour of love, however the instrument had some significant sentimental value to the owner. It was an instrument that had been in the family for at least 3 generations....
I completely understand. As a jeweler, I've long held that the most worthless form of value is of monetary . Or as better expressed than I " There are those who know the price of everything ...and the value of nothing!"
That was a very interesting video!!! I honestly cannot figure out how violin makers are able to set the sound post, it looks difficult!!! Suggestion... use a different font and/or font color in future videos. There were a few sentences that I couldn’t read because the color blended in with the background...
Setting the sound post is RIDICULOUSLY complicated the first few times, then very suddenly (for me at least) it became intuitive, something you do so expertly for yourself that you can't explain it. Perhaps like the way (ladies) you can bump a car door closed with your hip, or (gentlemen) snatch up a child who is falling before they hit the ground.
It is indeed quite difficult! I’ve spent a good 5-10 hours simply learning the qualities of soundpost setting and such. Having a well fitted soundpost and the proper tools makes it infinitely easier, and better for the instrument too!
Something new for me to learn. As a complete novice, It appears that the sound post is held in place by the pressure on the bridge and the bottom of the case, it that correct? A darker color on the accompanying text my be in order. Narragansett Bay
That is actually a Czech violin..they are almost always slap dash with no corner blocks, crude carved into the top bass bar,end pin hole off center. I have 3 of these examples. Had on with a pencil as a sound post. I still can't understand why they would build these violin so poorly..yet using in some cases selected fine wood, I have 2 with one piece backs of fine flamed maple yet sloppy finishing.
In regards to the cleats and patch, is there a concern that they might impact how well it will resonate (since the brilliance of a Strad is generally attributed to its wood)?
veden310 Not on a black background it won't. The correct technique, if you can do it, is to XOR the lettering over the image. Then it will be legible over any background.
QUESTION: The part I was waiting for was how he prepared and glued the top... but he didn't show it. Were the little splinters still attached to the side sanded down? Or was it just glued back in place without cleaning the surfaces?
I'm not sure why you have the bridge as close to the fingerboard as you have there & not centred on the notches of the sound holes. The sound post would need to be positioned accordingly though. It's still nice to see the basic steps of repair being shared though.
Because the original label is missing, would it have been appropriate to replace the top or to refinish the top? Your repairs are brilliant. I'm looking for more repair videos from you. Thumbs up.
There area lot of wood fibres split from the top plate. Almost a continuous line . So the opening process has not gone well . The glue should release the top without splitting all the wood .
No they don't, the reason they sound nice is because the wood that Antonio Stradivari used was treated with lots of chemicals. Also, most of the hemicellulose decomposed, so the instruments have significantly less water absorbed into them.
My parents had a violin about the caliber of this one. It had been played briefly by my uncle, I guess back in the late 1940s. My mother wound up with it and it sat in a state of disrepair for the next 60 years in our house. (my father was sure we were all going to be geniuses and learn to play it.) I had harbored the idea for many years to get it restored but my mother, properly I might add, gave it away to one of her sisters, my uncle having passed away. I'm curious what the cost to restore this violin was and what it's value is restored??? If I had restored my uncle's violin and it's sound was good, I would have liked to have sold it or donated it so it could be heard again. I'm sure my aunt still has it.
Hi, may I know if the type of pegs you used is the same with those ebony ones that are sold online and doesn't need to be shaped by peg shaper? I am curious because I am planning to replace my hardwood pegs with ebony. The hardwood pegs really sunk, so I thought I can do it myself if the only thing I will do is to insert the pegs and mark them for the right drilling location for the string winding and cut the excess side of the pegs. My peg box holes are the same as when I first buy it. So, do you think buying DIY ebony pegs or fittings is okay? I really don't have peg shaper or can't afford one.
Hi Master David, It's been a month since your reply and I just read it now. Thanks for replying. My peg box has; 4 small holes with 6.5mm - 6.8mm 4 big holes with 7.3mm to 7.5mm I ordered ebony fittings online as it is so impossible to buy them in my country (Philippines). I wonder if it would fit? I tried to also measure the peg's milimeter (the one I ordered online through its picture) on both areas and I find that from small and big areas where peg box's holes meet with the peg it has 7.5mm and 8.3mm. So its difference has 0.8mm almost the same as my peg box holes' milimeters. By the way, I have a woodcrafmanship background skills.
Jovel...just keep in mind that peg holes can be at different reamer ratios. Most are a 1:30 ratio but they can vary. Also the peg holes can wear causing a different ratio. When I fit new pegs I will usually take a very small shaving with a reamer in the peg hole to set the ratio. Then fit the pegs accordingly. The method you described above should generally work. If you find the pegs slipping or even gripping too much then take it to a repairer.....
The soundpost shall not be secured by any type of mechanical fastener or adhesive. It shall be sufficient for the same to be secured by friction between the top board and the rear board.
Hi David, can you help a friend has a violin which has an identifing mark inside on the back viewed through the fret holes as capitalletter A with a capital s superimposed. Can you shed any light on the maker? There is also a number 1074 printed in black indian ink as well. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
